By Mabel Hung

Following a series of well attended physical trade and consumer exhibitions in October, another four trade fairs were held successfully at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) during 11-13 November 2020.

They were Restaurant & Bar Hong Kong X Gourmet Asia 2020, Natural & Organic Asia 2020, Build4Asia 2020, and Retail Asia Conference and Expo 2020 organised by Informa Markets, attracting hundreds of exhibitors, and thousands of local trade buyers from food & hospitality, health & wellness, retail, and innovative building technology sectors.

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Management) Limited (HML) has worked closely with the organiser, Informa Markets, to reschedule the four exhibitions impacted by the pandemic and to implement stringent and effective preventive measures to enable face-to-face networking and deal-making opportunities for participants.

Monica Lee-Müller, HML’s Managing Director, is excited about the long-awaited reboot of trade fairs at the HKCEC. “We highly appreciate organisers’ support and confidence in the HML team to open the many trade fairs at the HKCEC even without the participation of overseas exhibitors and buyers under the travel restriction,” she said. “HML is committed to provide our world class services, to create and recreate events, being flexible in scheduling and offering event organisers and attendees a safe, hygienic and comfortable environment to make connection and conduct business. We are excited to see the launch of the bilateral Air Travel Bubble between Singapore and Hong Kong on 22 November, and we hope it will soon be extended to cover Mainland China and other countries to restart the Hong Kong exhibition industry.“

Some 25 exhibitions and other corporate events and banquets have been confirmed at the HKCEC from October to December 2020. With the Hong Kong Government’s Convention and Exhibition Industry Subsidy Scheme, which has just been extended until end of 2021, more exhibitions and international conferences are expected in the coming months.

Mabel Hung is Director – Communications & Sustainability, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

By R.V. Baugus

We have noted before in IAVM News as well as a Venue Professional magazine article by Eden Park’s Nick Sautner about how Australia has opened and welcomed attendance to sporting events. Now, Suncorp Stadium is Brisbane drew an audience of 49,155 for a State of Origin rugby finals match between New South Wales and Queensland, in the process earning the largest attendance in any world sport since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March.

The attendance fell slightly short of Suncorp Stadium’s 52,500 capacity but was enough to eclipse the 46,000 figure that was posted for last month’s Bledisloe Cup rugby union match between New Zealand and Australia at Auckland’s Eden Park.

The first two games were played at Adelaide Oval and Sydney’s ANZ Stadium, which both operated at reduced capacities – 24,218 and 36,212, respectively – in line with COVID-19 restrictions. The third and final contest was won by Queensland, 2014.

The attendance mark was made possible when Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced recently that open-air stadiums with a COVID Safe Plan would be able to operate at full capacity, setting the stage for Suncorp Stadium to welcome almost 50,000 fans for the State of Origin decider.

Precautions were still taken with the grounds to ensure the safety of all fans. Masks were worn unless seated and fans remains within an allocated zone shown on the ticket. Cashless payments only were also in use for food, beverages and merchandise.

The announcement by the Premier will allow all ticketed seated venues across Queensland to raise their capacity from 50 per cent to 100 per cent. Outdoor events can increase attendance from 1,000 to 1,500 with a COVID Safe Event Checklist, with larger events requiring a COVID Safe Plan.

Emily Jensen is a Marketing Coordinator at Tacoma Venues & Events, which oversees the Tacoma Dome and Greater Tacoma Convention Center, where her primary focus is social media and fan engagement. After nearly five years working in PR and marketing for live events, Emily knows how to foster a positive relationship with fans and communities – and it isn’t mastering the art of emojis on Facebook. Outside the office, Emily has entered the world of stand-up comedy to hone her communication, leadership, and writing skills; serves as Vice President of Public Relations for her local Toastmasters chapter; and somehow still finds time to volunteer with the cats at the local humane society.

Join your Foundation in congratulating Emily on being honored as one of the 30|UNDER|30 Class of 2020 and don’t forget to come back each Thursday as we spotlight another honoree!

IAVM is launching a new advocacy media campaign for ALL of our venue members.  As we move into the holiday season we want our venues, performers, guests, and the elected officials who represent us to talk about the live events they will miss most this holiday season.  An “our favorite things” campaign will highlight the loss of joy these many holiday events bring to our communities, performers and guests alike.   Elected officials at both the state and federal level need to understand how important local venues are to the communities they serve. 

Earned media –  via stories reported in local TV news and newspapers, letters to the editor and opeds, are the most impactful way to get the attention of lawmakers.  We challenge every venue to work with your local media, chambers of commerce, local elected officials (mayors, city managers, etc) and even your guests on this campaign.

The social media component is important as well. If we work together, we can successfully highlight the fact that closed venues need federal and state assistance.  Congress needs to act now. 

Sample social media messages for IAVM members:

Some of our favorite things about the holidays – live events and our guests.  Congress, we need your help now so we can bring back live events, including our most cherished holiday events in 2021. 

What we will miss most – our annual production of the Nutcracker.  Congress we need your help to bring it back for 2021.

What we miss most this holiday – our annual Disney on Ice show.  Congress, help us so we can bring back live events in 2021.

This holiday season won’t be the same without our annual production of the Christmas Carol.  Congress, don’t be a Scrooge, help us bring back our holiday tradition in 2021.

While no jingle bells will be playing or choirs singing, our Christmas spirit remains  – Congress, feel the Christmas Spirit and help bring back our Christmas traditions in 2021

Missing our annual (name of fundraisers) that brings some much joy to (recipients of fundraisers) – Congress help us bring back our annual (name) for the holidays in 2021.

We’re thankful for our guests and live events.  We miss both.  Congress, please pass COVID relief now so that we can remain afloat during this difficult time and safely re-open when appropriate.  #SaveLiveEvents #CongressActNow

Social media messages for local officials:

This Thanksgiving we are grateful for all that XXXX (fill in the venue) does for our community even during a pandemic.  We need you back, hosting live events again.  Congress pass COVID-19 relief for live events and venues. #SaveLiveEvents  #CongressActNow

We are missing live events this holiday season and can’t wait until the XXXX (fill in the venue) reopens at capacity.  In the meantime, they need the help of Congress.  Pass COVID-19 relief now. #SaveLiveEvents #CongressActNow

You can find the email contact information and Twitter handles for your Senators and U.S. Representatives congressional members in the IAVM toolkit.

By R.V. Baugus

Another VenueConnect out of the way — albeit it a virtual conference — the Baugus family decided to celebrate by doing something we had not done since early December of last year: get the heck out of Dodge.

Along with our daughter, Charla, and her future husband, Blake, we left the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex on a crisp Sunday morning on November 1 to snake our way off the beaten path to head south for a relaxing getaway to the historic German town of Fredericksburg in the Hill Country of Texas. All the gear was packed with the new-normal additions of masks and hand sanitizer, for a vacation that we could only base how it would play out from our outings near home the previous 11 months.

Let’s just say that our wonderful bonding time together proved really no different as far as restaurants, shops and other establishments that we had been visiting throughout a pandemic which again is taking a steep turn for the worse in our country as far as cases and the strains on hospital rooms go. Masks were worn, social distancing was effectively practiced, sanitizer and hand soap was to be found everywhere.

Yet, just as in our outings at home, something seemed just a bit … off.

Ever been to Luckenbach? For those of you old enough, yep, it’s the “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)” made famous in song by Waylon Jennings (“with Willie and Waylon and the boys”). Charla and Blake were newbies to Fredericksburg, which sits about five miles down Highway 290 west of Luckenbach, and like many who have heard the song likely expected a much more grandiose Luckenbach experience.

Nope, it is still the little general store chocked full of Luckenbach merchandise, parking space for motorcycles, cold beer served up longneck style, a rooster that rules the property, and a stage where beginning in the morning folks show up to just jam and croon western favorites before time-drifting crowds seated on picnic benches. Even while painting this picture for you, and hopefully it makes you want to go to Luckenbach, it was obvious this was not the Luckenbach of rip-roaring times. Granted, Monday afternoon impromptu jams are not the things of which crazy crowds are made, but still …

My father-in-law served in World War II aboard the naval minesweeper, USS Density. The bell of the Density is on display in Fredericksburg at the War of the Pacific Museum. Fredericksburg happens to be home to Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, commanding Allied air, land, and sea forces during World War II.

I always love going through the museum to show the bell displayed under glass to my guests, but such a visit would not be possible on this trip as the museum is closed on Monday and Tuesday for “deep sanitization cleaning.” I truly understand that and am grateful for the care they show for guests and their own staff, and it reminded me once again it is a sign of the times.

As we inch closer out of the 2020 abyss and toward a 2021 that honestly none of us can truly predict but only prepare the best for, the outing gave me pause to now look back on the beauty of our vacation and the memories made with family that will forever be cherished. It told me that it still IS possible to enjoy life even if it means some of the full availabilities and amenities that we always had will likely never show up again, or at least not for the foreseeable future.

Restaurants will continue to seat us six feet apart. Doors to any type of establishment will continue to have a “must wear mask to enter” sign affixed. Sanitizer can be found anywhere to your left and to your right. But the main thing is we do and can continue living as long as we smartly adhere to protocols to not endanger ourselves and those about us.

Lord only knows what another full and complete lockdown will do to our industry. We have suffered enough without sports, concerts, meetings, trade shows, plays, ballets, family shows, etc. We have been creative in bringing a mixed and unusual array of events to our venues that we would never have imagined this time last year. But even while doing that, we have seen our workforce decimated through layoffs and furloughs. It has been painful, to put it mildly.

Just as we were able to spend what counts most — time together — I encourage you to do the same. No, it won’t fix or cure what is currently ailing our country and our industry, but it still means that we are living life. And that, friends, is what we should all be doing.